YOUR PAST NO LONGER NEEDS TO CONTROL YOUR PRESENT

Therapy for Trauma & Emotional Healing

Compassionate therapy online or in-person in Minnesota & online in Vermont

You’re done letting your past hold you back from feeling alive.

What happened to you no longer needs to define you.

Trauma can come from big, life-changing events, like accidents, abuse, or losing someone important. But it can also build from smaller hurts that happened over and over, or from never receiving the love, safety, or care when you needed it most.

You carry these painful experiences with you, often feeling like you’re constantly on edge or weighed down by emotions you can’t fully explain. Certain places, situations, or even people you care about can suddenly make you feel unsafe or overwhelmed, even when nothing bad is happening in the moment. You might find yourself replaying painful memories in your head, having strong emotional reactions that seem to come out of nowhere, or feeling emotionally numb and disconnected from your own needs. You might notice that your trauma has affected your sexual desire or ability to enjoy intimacy, making it hard to feel close, relaxed, or even interested in connection with your partner. Keeping your guard up all the time can leave you feeling drained, distant, and like you’re just going through the motions instead of truly living.

You may find yourself wishing you could feel normal again — calm, connected, and in control of your body and your relationships. Therapy can help you understand what’s been holding you back, release the emotional weight you’ve been carrying, and regain a sense of safety and confidence.

Does this sound familiar?

  • A constant state of alterness is making it hard for you to relax, concentrate, connect with others, get a good night's rest. Or maybe you feel as if you've never been able to achieve these things, as you're always "waiting for something to happen."

  • Whether it's people, please, activities, new situations or familiar ones, you may find yourself steering clear of anything (or anyone) that could bring back painful memories.

    Or you feel that you're unable to develop or maintain healthy relationships because of a fear of being hurt again.

  • You experience sudden anger, sadness, or other strong and uncomfortable emotions that feel like they hit you without warning. This makes it hard to keep relationships steady or being willing to do new things, feeling like you're held back from truly experiencing life.

  • Your mind can't seem to stop playing the event(s) on replay in the your head. Bringing the intrusive thoughts or flashbacks in vivid picture, where it feels like it is interrupting your daily life, making it hard to focus on tasks or enjoy the moment. Often people attempt to "numb out" these memories with substances, sex, or avoidance, but these things never keep them away for long.

  • You feel like your body is out to get you -- constant headaches, stomach aches, or other physical symptoms without any clear medical reason. The impacts of the stress causing you to feel ill.

  • You feel you’ve had a dampening in your desire for sexual intimacy due to fear, discomfort, or feeling emotionally shut down. You question people's intentions, which impact your relationships and sexual intimacy.

  • Touch makes you uncomfortable or anxious, leading to distance in your intimate relationships, where you want closeness, so you may keep yourself emotionally distant, affecting your ability to connect deeply with others. Or you feel yourself "zone out" during sex or intimacy, when you want to feel safe, connected, and comforted.

  • Sometimes, you may feel detached or disconnected during intimate moments, leaving your feeling disconnected, lonely, and dissatisfied.

Your past no longer needs to hold you back from your present.

You’ve been through something that changed you. Maybe it was a single experience or something that happened over time. Either way, it’s left a mark — shaping how you think, how you feel, and how safe you feel in your own body and in your relationships. You might find it hard to trust others, to relax, or to enjoy intimacy without anxiety or shutdown. Some days, you feel numb. Other days, the pain or overwhelm takes over.

You’ve carried this for a long time, and it’s exhausting. You want to feel present in your own life again. You want to be able to connect with people without bracing for disappointment, fear, or rejection. Most of all, you want to feel like yourself, not just someone reacting to what happened in the past.

You want relief.

Therapy can help you begin to understand and gently unwind the ways trauma still lives in your body and mind. This process takes time and effort, but it is possible. As you build safety and resilience, you start to reclaim your sense of self, rebuild intimacy on your terms, and experience more ease, peace, and connection in your daily life.

In our work together, we may use Brainspotting, a body-based trauma therapy that helps you access and process the emotional pain held deep in your nervous system. Brainspotting uses your eye position to connect to specific areas of the brain where trauma, fear, and emotional blocks are stored. This approach allows you to gently process what’s been stuck, especially in areas related to relationships, safety, and sexual well-being, so you can begin to move forward with more clarity and strength.

You don’t have to keep carrying this alone. Healing is possible, and it can start here.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT ALONE

Therapy for trauma & emotional healing can help you:

  • Gain a clearer understanding of how your past experiences are impacting your emotions, behaviors, and relationships.

  • Learn tools to feel less overwhelmed or “stuck” by painful memories or triggers.

  • Create space to be vulnerable and present with yourself and the people you care about — even when it feels scary.

  • Explore what’s behind any sexual struggles or behaviors that feel confusing or harmful.

  • Build greater control over your choices and reduce feelings of shame, guilt, or regret around your sexuality.

  • Begin to reconnect with your body, your desires, and what feels pleasurable to you — whether alone or with a partner.

  • Redefine what sexuality means for you, on your own terms, so you can experience intimacy in ways that feel safe and fulfilling.

  • Start releasing emotional pain and rebuild a sense of safety and trust within yourself.

You deserve healing from the pain and peace for the present.

The bottom line is…

Imagine a life where…

  • You wake up feeling lighter, no longer carrying the weight of what you’ve been through.

  • You trust yourself and feel safe building deep, meaningful connections with the people you care about.

  • You enjoy the present without fear or old pain pulling you backward.

  • You move forward with confidence, knowing your past doesn’t control your future.

  • You feel calm, grounded, and fully at ease in your own skin.

Healing is possible.

I’m here to help you break free from the past to live in your present.

FAQs

  • Trauma is an emotional response to a distressing or disturbing event. It can result from a single incident or ongoing exposure to stress or violence. Trauma can have lasting effects on mental and physical health.

    Symptoms of trauma vary but can include flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, depression, emotional numbness, irritability, and difficulty concentrating or sleeping. Trauma can also affect physical health, leading to headaches, stomach issues, or other stress-related ailments.

  • You’ll share your story at your own pace, and together, we’ll explore your concerns and goals. The first session is about getting to know each other and setting a foundation for our work together.

  • Healing is a personal journey, and there’s no set timeline. You may start to feel relief after a few sessions, but deeper healing often takes time and consistent effort.

  • That’s okay. You’re in control of what we discuss, and we’ll move at a pace that feels comfortable for you. Therapy is a collaborative process, and your comfort is my priority.

    With Brainspotting, you do not have to talk about what you are thinking or experiencing -- you do not necessarily need to have conscious awareness of the trauma that is impacting you! -- as we can still allow your brain to do its amazing healing work without talking.